A new Code of Practice for Smart Working (PAS 3000)
from the British Standards Institute was launched at BT Tower on
21 January. Commissioned by the UK Cabinet Office, it sets out
agreed definitions and specifies good practice for Smart
Working. it's already being used by organisations to underpin
programmes of transformation.

Guest article by Mandy Garner, of Workingmums.co.uk. Mandy
outlines best practice in family-friendly working and employee
engagement, and gives examples from the 2015 Top Employers
Awards.Plus details fo how to enter for the 2016 Awards.

There's a welcome trend to improve the sensory environments
of workplaces, and 'biophilc design' offers new ways to make
workplaces more natural and human-friendly. But in the context
of Smart Working, we smoke out an elephant in the room ...

Our look at the year ahead in 2016 includes government
workplaces, Apple, Yahoo, the EU, business social media, talking
to the wall, lost souls, a robotic divide and Middle Eastern
women. Wide-ranging and insightful, you should take a look
at our predictions for
the world of work.

The 2nd edition of the Smart Working Handbook was
launched on 16th September, at the UK Dept for Business. This
new edition includes new case studies, updated sections on
people, workplaces and technologies, and a new section on Smart
Working and wellbeing. We hope it will be as influential as the
original, which had more than 10,000 downloads.

Andy Lake takes a critical look at the common practice of
role profiling which often forms part of the transition to Smart
Working. It's a practice, he believes, which often causes more
problems than it solves as the ideas are rooted in the old world
of work.He suggests an alternative approach.

In this guest article,
Frances Holliss, takes a look at the phenomenon of
the 'Workhome' and its architecture. The dwelling
that doubles as a workplace has taken many forms
throughout the centuries and across the globe - and
it's making a comeback. But politicians and
regulators are failing to get to grip with it.

Andy Lake takes a look at Frances Holliss' book
Beyond Live/Work - The Architecture of
Home-Based Work - a pioneering work of
accessible scholarship charting the history, spread
and different architectural forms of home-based
work, and its relevance for today.

Government Ministers are keen to see Civil
Servants adopt Smart Working. So how about the
politicians too?In this 'physician, heal
thyself' article we call on our legislators to skip
out the 20th century and jump straight from the 19th
to the 21st century. Time to dump their archaic and
ineffective working practices!

One of the most important workspace trends is
the continued rise of "3rd place" working, or
"business space as needed". The emphasis is on
touching down to use space when you need to, more
than renting space for a set period of time. In this
interview with Phil Kemp, we find out why Regus is
rolling out Third Place Regus Express centres
globally.

Flexibility.co.uk has produced new guidance for
the UK Civil Service on Smart Working. Based on our
Smart Working Handbook, it sets out the principles
and techniques for modernising working practices in
central government. Commissioned by the Cabinet
Office, it includes case studies of innovative
practice as departments embrace Smart Working.

Check out Flexibility.co.uk's Smart Working
Maturity Model to measure your progress in Smart
Working (or Agile/Flexible Working - works for
all!). This tool helps you to see where your
organisation is in Smart Working, where it could be,
and what needs to be in place to make the
difference.

The way work is changing has impacts not only on
organisations but right across society. Are we ready
for it, or still planning for the industrial age?A
new report and conference looks at the impacts,
what to prepare for and how to try to reap the
benefits.

The Smarter Working Manifesto combines advocacy for
smart working with a practical apporach based on years
of experience from the authors. It sets out the
changes needed to workplace, technologies, behaviours,
and advises on 'acoustic intelligence' and new
freelancing styles of corporate work.

Andy Lake reflects on the experience of not just
being able to work anywhere, but having to
when life throws up the unexpected.This is about
using smart working on both a planned and unplanned
basis. Are the technologies we use really up to
'working anywhere?

Andy Lake was at the
Emirates Festival of Literature with his
management book Smart Flexibility. Here he reflects on
the experience, and looks at the potential for
flexible working in the Middle East. It seems there
is a growing appetite for flexible working in the
region.

Once upon a time typists were taught to type. It
was a specialist skill. Now, we are all expected to
have typing skills - yet few get any training.
Possibly the most effective measure an organisaiton
can take to boost productivity is to teach everyone to
touch-type. A key Information Age skill comes centre
stage.

There's science behind understanding
how performance fluctuates when employees work all
day with technology. Here we look at a way to not
only monitor but also boost performance, based on
knowing when to take a pit stop - and intelligent
software that provides the support to do it.

Andy Lake takes a look at how we can rethink
meetings. It's not just about using new tools and
spaces - before we do that, we need to break down
what we do in meetings. Here's a method to challenge
assumptions and do things differently - and set
targets for overcoming the meetings culture.

Any changes to work working practices raise fears
about the unfamiliar. Smart Working is no exception.
People can worry about the ergonomic impacts of
sharing space in the office, and working outside the
office. And of being home alone, disconnected, and
tripping over wires. We put the risks in context.

This new management book
encapsulates the practical experience, insight and
research of Flexibility.co.uk. Andy Lake
spells out a strategic, integrated and
evidence-based approach to delivering benefits for
the business, the individual, the environment and
for 'smarter' government.

Lately there has been a rash of
articles extolling the virtues of having everyone
working in the same place, and creating work spaces
that engineer innovaiton through chance meetings and
water-cooler moments. And they are being used as a
way to resist working smarter. Here is the backlash
against the backlash.

Wokingham Borough Council has a
dynamic and can-do attitude to implementing Smart
Working. They have moved ahead with their own
solution, developing a new working culture, working
flexibly across locations and achieving a 2:1
desk-sharing ratio. A case study of a smaller
council leading the way.

With smaller and more portable
devices, it's time to rethink the ergonomics of
tackling different tasks Guest author Hugo Bos sets
out the issues and some of the key solutions for
increasing comfort and efficiency, wherever you or
your employees work.

In the second part of our
mini-series on dealing with resistance to change,
Andy Lake proposes 10
practical steps to take positive control of
influencing culture and behaviours in a Smart
Working implementation programme.

e-Learning is a natural fit for
organisations making the change to Smart Working.
Plantronics have found it the ideal way to support
staff making the transition to new ways of working.
Working with e-Work.com, they were able to develop a
customised solution reflecting their brand and
aspirations.

Changes to working practices and
working culture always provoke some resistance. And
as Smart and Flexible Working involve changes to
workplaces, technologies and behaviours, there is
always a risk of hitting a nerve. Here we take a
look at ten of the most common reasons given, and
how to deal with them .

Aberdeenshire Council's Worksmart
and WorkSPACE programmes are attracting a lot of
attention from councils around the UK - a great
example of moving ahead with modern working
practices and getting staff on board with the new
workstyles.

The debate on economic recovery is stuck
in a rut - cuts versus borrowing. But the key
issue is about change: how to adapt to the new world
that is being born as the old one fades painfully away.
Here's our
Flexibility Nine Point Plan to boost smarter
growth.